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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Senate body seeks funds to protect country’s ‘secrets’ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee for Finance has forwarded recommendations to the National Assembly for allocation of budget for cybersecurity to protect the country’s secret information.
Senate Defence Committee Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said on Tuesday that the step has been taken following revelations that the American CIA and NSA clandestinely compiled 13.5 billion intelligence reports on Pakistan by snooping on the country’s computer and telephone networks. The disclosure about the theft of sensitive data by the American secret agencies has rung alarm bells in the country, and the Senate Committee on Defence got active in view of the situation.
“The committee has decided to secure the national defence, economy and the Internet users by setting up a cyber cordon to prevent this theft,” Mushahid said when he talked to a delegation of Pakistan Information Security Association (PISA) in Parliament House on Tuesday. Mushahid said the Finance Committee of Senate deliberated upon the issue at length and recommended that funds should be allocated for cybersecurity in view of the theft of secret information by the United States. He opined that all the stakeholders need to sit together and devise a strategy for cybersecurity in the country.
The meeting decided to hold a seminar to promote awareness about cybercrimes and security. A policy seminar will be held at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) on July 8. It was decided that a private bill would be presented in the National Assembly and Senate on August 14. The draft bill will be prepared with mutual consultation and prior to that the Pakistan Information Security Association will prepare a report on the subject.
It was also decided that the Pakistan Information Security Association will prepare the draft of Cyber Security Policy Strategy. tanveer ahmed
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk